雅思阅读材料之科技篇：科技与自然_雅思英语阅读

雅思阅读材料之科技篇：科技与自然

　　While it is far from obvious that geckos feet could inspire a new kind of sticking plaster, there are some fieldssuch as roboticsin which borrowing designs from nature is self-evidently the sensible thing to do. The next generation of planetary exploration vehicles being designed by Americas space agency, NASA, for example, will have legs rather than wheels. That is because legs can get you places that wheels cannot, says Dr Kenny. Wheels work well on flat surfaces, but are much less efficient on uneven terrain. Scientists at NASAs Ames Research Centre in Mountain View, California, are evaluating an eight-legged walking robot modelled on a scorpion, and Americas Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding research into four-legged robot dogs, with a view to applying the technology on the battlefield.

　　Having legs is only half the storyits how you control them that counts, says Joseph Ayers, a biologist and neurophysiologist at Northeastern University, Massachusetts. He has spent recent years developing a biomimetic robotic lobster that does not just look like a lobster but actually emulates parts of a lobsters nervous system to control its walking behaviour. The control system of the scorpion robot, which is being developed by NASA in conjunction with the University of Bremen in Germany, is also biologically inspired. Meanwhile, a Finnish technology firm, Plustech, has developed a six-legged tractor for use in forestry. Clambering over fallen logs and up steep hills, it can cross terrain that would be impassable in a wheeled vehicle.